A Friendly Welcome
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: Hannah brings Xena to the Grant Mansion, but will the inhabitants accept the warrior as a friend? Done as a request for cecebeec. :)


**cecebeec, who owns Hannah, Shift, Ptery, and Xena, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Sorry it took me so long! :) **

**Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Rachel and Megan.**

* * *

**A Friendly Welcome**

Xena sighed a little. "Hannah, what is so important that we must be here?" She asked, gazing around the town of Staybrook, California.

"Xena, I told you, we're going to see a friend," the young girl said patiently. "Now, hold your horses. We're almost there."

"I don't have any horses."

Shift, who was beside Hannah with an I.D. Mask on, chuckled. "It's an expression," he explained. "It means be patient."

Ptery, who was hiding in Hannah's backpack, giggled to himself, knowing the warrior wouldn't dare bring out her knives in public like this.

The green-skinned girl, who also had an I.D. Mask on, sighed. "Let's just get there soon," she said. "These masks are so confining."

She said the last part so that only her comrades heard her and Hannah nodded in agreement. She didn't like it when her friends had to wear the human I.D. Masks, but it was the only way for them to move around without being detected. Hannah suddenly paused at seeing a familiar little girl coming out of the library and she waved to the librarian before turning and stopping as she saw Hannah, Xena, and Shift. The young girl tilted her head to the side in curiosity before going over to a black-and-silver Camaro and getting in. Hannah felt that was a little bit odd, but brushed it off. "Hannah, what is it?" Shift asked her.

"Nothing," she said. "I just thought that little girl coming out of the library looked familiar."

"She was certainly cute," Xena said with a nod. Though only a few saw it, she did have a bit of a soft spot for young kids.

Hannah noted the car was going in the same direction they were headed and her curiosity got the best of her. "I wonder if they are from where we're going," she said thoughtfully before giving her head a quick shake. "Well, come on. We're almost there."

It wasn't much longer before they arrived at the Grant Mansion and Xena's mouth dropped open. "What?" She asked. "Hannah, this is the Grant Mansion."

"I know," the girl said with a smile. "Shift, Ptery, and I are good friends with the owner."

Xena actually began to look unsure now, which was a far cry from her usual tough-girl demeanor. But before anyone could say anything, the front door opened and a tall, young woman stepped out. "Ah, Hannah, welcome!" She said, smiling warmly. "Megan thought that was you in town."

"Megan! Of course! That's why she looked so familiar!" Hannah said, now realizing it was Megan she had seen. "And hi, Rachel."

Xena was now really panicking on the inside and stepped back a little, but she felt something stop her and her eyes widened as a Thep Khufan came out and he narrowed his eyes. "Something is off about this one," he said.

Hannah grew a bit worried. "Um, can we talk inside?" She asked.

Rachel nodded and they headed inside, Snare-Oh tying up Xena, who struggled, but couldn't get free. Once they were inside and secure, the Thep Khufan reached under Xena's chin and gently pulled away the I.D. Mask. Her eyes widened as her true features were revealed.

Rachel gasped in alarm and Snare-Oh growled. Hannah quickly stood up. "Guys, wait!" She pleaded. "Xena's one of us!"

Ghostfreak came into the room and he looked at Hannah. "Hannah, you do know what alien race Xena is, correct?" He asked.

"Yes, I do, but she's never once harmed me. She's like a big sister."

A jellyfish-like alien came out and Hannah gasped a bit, but stood still as he circled her before nodding. "She's telling the truth," he said. "It seems Xena has a soft spot for little ones."

"Shut up!" Xena snapped at him, a red tint coming to her green face.

Ptery came out of Hannah's backpack, howling with laughter. "I knew it!" He said gleefully.

"Shut up, insect!"

Rachel looked at Hannah, who sighed. "She is still working on her temper," she said. "But she's harmless otherwise. I swear."

"Well...alright," the young woman said with a nod. "As long as she doesn't start any fights with my family."

Xena looked at her and sighed. "Yeah, sure," she said, though she felt the woman's gaze piercing her.

Snare-Oh let her go. "This is going to be very interesting," he said.

* * *

_A few days later..._

Xena was ready to go back home. "Hannah, I'm the daughter of one of their enemies," she said. "They won't accept me."

"How do you know? You haven't given them a chance," Hannah protested.

"I've seen how they react around me," she said. "I'm just going to head for home."

She stood up and was almost to the door when something grabbed her and she turned, but large hands pinned her arms to her sides and she was facing a Frankenstein-like alien. "Let go!" She demanded.

"Nope," he said. "We heard you with Hannah. And we believe your Grant Mansion welcome is overdue."

Xena struggled again, but Snare-Oh came out and nodded. "I'm in," he said.

Whampire came out, along with Ghostfreak and Blitzwolfer. "Count us in," the Ectonurite said.

The green-skinned girl struggled, but Frankenstrike lifted her with ease and carried her to his lab, to which she was swiftly restrained against a table with metal cuffs. She noted the cuffs were padded, but that didn't put her at ease. "Let go!" She demanded again.

"Hmm, you know, we've never had one of her race as a victim before," Blitzwolfer said.

"You're right," Whampire said. "Let's rectify that."

Xena struggled harder, but when a hand touched her side, she growled. "Hands off!" She demanded.

"What's the matter, Xena?" Snare-Oh asked with a chuckle. "Ticklish?"

She gave him a look of confusion. "What are you talking about?" She snapped. "I just don't like touching!"

"Hmm, no doubt you're not really big on affection, either. Right?" Whampire asked.

She snarled at him. "None of your business!"

To her surprise, they didn't seem fazed. "She's a tough cookie," Ghostfreak said. "But even tough cookies have weak spots."

"Let's begin," Frankenstrike said.

Xena saw them reaching for her, but had no time to snarl out a threat as she felt a strange sensation that made her want to giggle, but she quickly tried to block out the feeling. The only trouble was, the feeling was much too strong as the aliens continued tickling her.

"Look at that," Blitzwolfer said with a chuckle. "She's trying to resist."

"I know what will make her break," said Ghostfreak as he lifted up Xena's t-shirt to the bottom of her ribcage and not only blew a raspberry into the exposed stomach, but one of his tentacles wiggled like crazy into her belly button.

"AH! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The green-skinned girl cried out, squealing as he blew another raspberry into her stomach. "STOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOP THAHAHAHAT!"

"Nope," Whampire said with a grin, his fingers tickling her underarms, making her laughter grow louder. "This is your Grant Mansion welcome. We should have given it to you when you first arrived."

"But we didn't know how you'd react if we did," Frankenstrike said. "So we waited."

"But after hearing that you felt we wouldn't accept you because of who you are, we had to interfere," Snare-Oh said, tickling her sides as Frankenstrike tickled her knees and Blitzwolfer tickled her feet.

"You might be the daughter of our enemy, but you are different from him," Ghostfreak said gently as they gave her a break. She took some deep breaths and looked at them in confusion.

"What do you mean? How am I different from my father?" She asked.

"You are protective of Hannah," Blitzwolfer said.

"You haven't attacked us," Frankenstrike said.

"You are even wary around Rachel," Whampire said. "Why is that?"

"I noticed that too," Rachel said as she came in, carrying Megan, who looked at Xena and looked at her aunt. Smiling, the blonde-haired woman set the young girl down on the table where Xena was restrained and Megan sat beside her before hugging her. The green-skinned girl was surprised at that, but then saw Megan smile.

"You're just misunderstood," she said. "But when you get to know someone, you become a friend."

The child's words hit the alien girl and she looked at her in surprise, which made the aliens and Rachel chuckle. "That's right, Megan," said Whampire, picking her up and the little girl giggled, snuggling into his hug.

Xena blinked. "She's your daughter?" She asked.

"Yes," Whampire said with a nod.

The green-skinned girl wasn't sure what to say, but squeaked as fingers wiggled into her side and she found Rachel smiling at her. "How about you stay and try to make friends?" She said. "You can't be all bad if Hannah trusts you and if Megan sees you as someone that can be trusted."

Megan turned, giving Xena puppy eyes. "Please stay?" She begged.

The alien girl now realized what Shift meant about Hannah using 'puppy eyes' sometimes. Ptery, who was nearby, chuckled. "Uh-oh, looks like she's got puppy eyes too," he said. "I thought only our Hannah could do that."

Rachel chuckled. "Most young ones can pull off puppy eyes," she said.

Hannah came in and giggled before joining Megan in giving Xena puppy eyes. The green-skinned girl groaned, feeling her resolve crumble. She couldn't say no to Hannah and she sighed. "Alright," she said. "Now can someone get me out of these blasted cuffs?"

Ghostfreak chuckled. "Why?" He asked before unleashing his tentacles again and tickling her sides and stomach, making the trapped girl laugh her hardest. "We haven't finished your initiation yet."

Shift, who had come in just in time to hear that, laughed. "Oh, boy. Brace yourself, Xena. These guys and the other aliens here are pros at tickle tortures," he said.

Xena found out he was right as she was tickled to pieces, but after they let her up, Megan hugged her again and she sighed before one arm came around the child. "Maybe having friends...wouldn't be so bad," she said. "Since you all insist on...well."

"Giving you a chance?" Rachel supplied gently. "That's what the Grant Mansion is all about, giving someone another chance."

The green-skinned girl nodded. "The stories are true," she said before standing up, instinctively picking up Megan, who giggled and held onto her. "Okay, I'll stay. But no more tickling."

"Sorry to disappoint, but tickling is very common around here," Snare-Oh said with a chuckle.

Xena groaned a bit, but she had to inwardly admit, it felt rather nice to have some new friends.

* * *

**Please leave a review, but no flames! **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


End file.
